the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God
It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do, of his good pleasure.- Philippians 2:13.
It is the peculiar blessing of every new creature in Christ Jesus, to be "renewed in knowledge." As the soul advances in the divine life, he more clearly understands the heights and depths of the mysteries of God’s grace, by the word and Spirit of truth: so also he feels more and more of the workings of the mystery of iniquity within him. Therefore, he has done with talking of his own free will, and works of righteousness having any share in obtaining grace. These notions are the weeds of nature. They spring from pride. Pride is interwoven with our very constitution and being. This opposes and rebels against our own mercies, even the free-grace truths of the gospel. But it is the exercise of faith to submit to the righteousness of Jesus: to bow to the sovereignty of God’s will, and to adore his Spirit who worketh in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure. O disciple of Jesus, how art thou sweetly constrained to own this from the rich experience of the truth upon thy own soul! What is the natural bent of thy free will, but to reject Jesus the Lord of life and glory? Its language is, "I WILL not have this man to reign over me." I have other and better lovers, and after them I WILL go. I WILL enjoy the pleasures of sin. I WILL love the world: I WLLL take my full swing in the gay delights, the pleasing profits, and glorious honors of it. I WILL be saved in my own way, for my own works: I WILL not be indebted to be saved by grace wholly. Thus the natural FREE-WILL of man speaks plain, by its affections and actions, through the darkness of the understanding. Thy free will was to destroy thyself: it was the will of the Lord to save thee in Christ Jesus. Therefore in the day of his power, the Holy Spirit made thee willing to come to Jesus for life and salvation. With free choice, and cheerful willingness, thou camest in faith, as a perishing sinner to a precious Saviour. Wilt thou any more ascribe any glory to thy will? wilt thou ever suffer thy power to share in the trophies of thy Lord? Nay, shall not free, sovereign, unmerited grace, have all the glory? Is not this the daily humble prayer of thy soul, "Leave me not, O Lord, to myself; for without thee, O Jesu, I can do nothing-nothing but sin against thee, and wound my own soul." If thou truly delightest in the law of God after the inward man, it is the delight of thy soul "to do those things which are pleasing in his sight." Ever put this soul-humbling, grace-exalting question to thy heart, "Who made me to differ? what have I that I have not received?" I have nothing in myself whereof to glory. I glory in him, who saith, "I will work, and who shall let it?"- Isaiah 43:13.
The righteous is taken away from the evil. Isaiah 57:1.
Why then do we not rejoice over the dead, who die in the Lord? Why do we, who profess to be in the Lord, fear to die? Death will be the funeral of all our evils, and the resurrection of all our comforts. Why then do we at all dread it? Why so reluctant to be taken from the many evils we suffer here? Why not rather be longing to be for ever with the Lord? Plainly, it is for want of faith. The point is not fully settled between our Saviour and our souls, whether we are his righteous members or not, and hence we do not walk closely and comfortably with him, and then the fear of death prevails over us. A believer in Jesus, and a righteous person, are convertible terms. Every believer is a living member of Christ, united to, and one with him. They are righteous as Christ is, as man and Mediator. His very righteousness is theirs. They are clothed with it, and stand perfectly righteous before God in it. Hence the Holy Spirit is given to us. He enables us to walk in the paths of righteousness, and to bring forth the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory of God. (Philippians 1:11.) See the blessedness of the righteous. They are “taken away from the evil.” The Lord doth this for them, because he loves them. To come, is not in the original. They are taken from all present evil. (1st.) They are taken from an evil nature. This is the grief and burden of their righteous souls from day to day. But the death of the body shall quite destroy the body of sin and death. They shall drop this body, and wing their way to endless glory. (2d.) From the evil of sin. Though this did not reign over them, yet it raged in them. Though they were not under its dominion, yet it warred in their members, and made them cry out, O wretched! Sin brought death into the world. Death shall be the grave of sin. The righteous is not taken away in his sins, but from the evil of them. (3d.) From that evil of evils, unbelief. This now dishonors God, causes weak hands and dejected hearts. But in death we shall part with it for ever. (4th.) From all the evil of this present world. All pains, trials, afflictions, etc. from whatever cause, we shall for ever be delivered. This is the negative blessedness of the righteous. Who shall describe their positive happiness? It hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive, what the Lord hath prepared for them who love him. This we must die fully to know. O love the Lord, all ye his saints.
My Lord who gave me righteousness,
And makes me love his ways,
With ev’ry good my soul will bless,
Until I end my days.
He soon will take my soul by death,
From all my ills and strife:
His arms will then be underneath,
To raise me unto life.
